Phoenix is indeed suffering from a terminal illness that is gradually taking her life. On the day she collapsed and expired, Alaric materialized out of nowhere.
He was staring at Phoenix's scene with this unreadable expression on his face. However, he refused to believe that she was gone.
Alaric indeed left Phoenix after impregnating her; however, he didn't entirely disappear from her life. He always had his eyes on her but refused to show up.
He wanted Phoenix to move on in her life by accepting the alliance her father had approved for her because he knew that no one would accept their love.
Phoenix had a prosperous life ahead after she became the Luna of the most feared man of the werewolf clan. But he forgot that she couldn't accept a man who wasn't her mate.
